Forest Products

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply and demand of forest products and labor, including trucking and transport. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.

Wood is infinitely useful. And when harvested from responsibly managed forests, wood is a very sustainable material. At the Southern Research Station, we are working towards solutions that span engineering and forestry. Our research includes harvest techniques, wood products and carbon storage, how timber harvests can help preserve open forests, and more.

Forest products include salvage logs from trees damaged by hurricanes, timber, plants grown for biomass and bioenergy, and new compounds made from wood. Plants and fungi that provide food, medicine, artisanal, or cultural values are also part of this category. These non- wood forest products are incredibly important to forest ecosystems and people who rely on them for economic and cultural value.